Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista (16 January 1901-6 August 1973) was President of Cuba from 10 October 1940 to 10 October 1944, succeeding Federico Laredo Bru and preceding Ramon Grau, and from 10 March 1952 to 1 January 1959, succeeding Carlos Prio Socarras and preceding Fidel Castro.

Biography
Fulgencio Batista was born on 16 January 1901 in Banes, Cuba to a family of mixed Chinese, African, Spanish, and Taino descent, and he joined the Cuban Army. In 1933, he took part in the coup against Gerardo Machado with the military, and he appointed himself a Colonel and commander of the Cuban Army. In 1940, he was elected President of Cuba as a populist, and from 1944 to 1952 he lived in the United States between his two terms as president. In 1952, he led a coup d'etat and installed himself as president once more, and he revoked several civil liberties including the right to strike, aligning with the wealthy sugar plantation owners and ruling a corrupt and oppressive government. Under Batista, American mobsters were allowed to run casinos in Havana and use Cuba as a base for their illegal activities, and the Cuban rich and poor were completely separated by a large gap. On 26 July 1953, Fidel Castro and communist protesters led a failed attack on the Moncado Barracks that ended in their capture, but Batista made the poor choice of granting them amnesty. Batista received support from the United States due to his anti-communist stance, and they financed his military and intelligence forces, which killed as many as 20,000 dissidents with violence, torture, and public executions. On 2 December 1956, Castro returned with 82 followers (named the "26th of July Movement" after the date of the failed coup) and initiated the Cuban Revolution, beginning a guerrilla war against the corrupt Batista kleptocracy. The class struggle became a violent struggle as the poor followers of Castro fought against the wealthy that ruled the country, and on 1 January 1959 his forces were defeated for the last time at the Battle of Santa Clara. That same day, the 26th of July Movement's forces entered Havana, and Batista resigned at midnight of New Year's Day. Taking his personal fortune with him, Batista headed to the Dominican Republic, ruled by fellow strongman Rafael Trujillo, and he later moved to Antonio Salazar's Portugal. He died on 6 August 1973 in Marbella, Spain of a heart attack.